Oreo has had some very creative creative marketing over the last few years. One outlet for that creativity is the Oreo Facebook page — with more than 32 million likes and many shareable posts. They work with Wieden + Kennedy, one of the top ad agencies in the world — W&K also works with Coca-Cola, Old Spice, P&G and more.
Oreo’s most recent campaign ramps up the the debate between cookie and creme? I am not sure if you need an introduction, but the “classic” technique for eating an Oreo requires unscrewing the cookie to expose the creme filling before eating it separate from the cookie.
Mattel’s Hot Wheels have a mom problem. Many toy purchases are made by mothers. Moreover mothers often (and more frequently than fathers) supervise their children’s playtime. But many moms don’t understand “car toys” like Hot Wheels. On the other hand, according to Mattel research, moms have a pretty good feel for action figures. I guess that Batman and Buzz Light Year action figures are a lot like the dolls most moms played with when they grew up. Consequently, moms are being blamed for three years of flat sales of Mattel’s big three car toy brands (Hot Wheels, Matchbox, and Tyco R/C). Or, maybe more appropriately, they are blaming themselves for not understanding moms. So Mattel marketing managers are making an effort to change this.
This Bloomberg Businessweek article, “Mattel’s Mom Issue: They Really Don’t Get Hot Wheels” (February 21, 2013) describes this problem in more detail, along with a focus group of mommy bloggers where Mattel executives tried to better understand this problem.
Read the article. Do you agree with Mattel’s diagnosis of the “mom problem”? If you were the brand manager for one of Mattel’s car toy brands, what would you do to jumpstart sales?
Branded content blurs the line between advertising and offering customers some other benefit. Over the last several years, many firms have begun to use branded content that solves a customer problem while simultaneously promoting a brand. I love this example of branded content by Brazilian skateboard chops the Bronx Skate Store. Skateboarders are tough on sneakers — an important part of their uniform. Since most are not flush with cash, they like to make their sneakers last a bit longer by patching the holes that come with their favored sport. Someone had the idea of creating “duct tape” business cards. The next time a customer’s sneakers got a hole in them, out came a Bronx Skate Store “business card.” Just peel off the tape and patch the hole.
We often call attention to the really funny ads. While this one has a little humor, I think it just works. OK, maybe the brand name (even if they spell it wrong) and my Kodak background play into my feelings. Anyway, this ad captures a passion for photography characteristic of the EOS Rebel T4i’s target market (people that will spend almost $1000 on a single lens reflex camera). It is inspiring.
A brand extension occurs when a firm uses an existing brand on a new product in a different category. A poll of 11,000 Adweek readers voted from a list of 10 — and Zippo The Woman Perfume (yes the company that makes lighters that use that smelly fluid — at least that is how I remember the company) topped the list. I didn’t know that Dr. Pepper was making a BBQ sauce and a marinade — of course 7 Up and A&W are in the same product-market. For the whole list, see the Business Insider “See The 10 Worst Brand Extensions Currently On The Market” (February 9, 2013).
Why were these brand extensions identified as being particularly “bad”? What are benefits to brand extensions? What are some potential costs? What are some examples of “good” brand extensions?
Many college students are still trying to identify that “best career” choice. While there are a number of online surveys you can take — and you can find some of those through your career services office at school — this one looks particularly interesting. Sokanu (as in “so can you”) was recently described in a Fast Company article, “How To Find the Best Job For You” (December 20, 2012). As you develop your own personal marketing plan, you might find some helpful insights from taking this survey.
Go take the survey, maybe you will confirm your current path, maybe you will identify some other opportunities to think about.
Maybe the biggest advertising day of the year yesterday — oh it was a pretty big football day, too. Especially if you are a 49er or Raven fan.
If you are looking for some instant analysis, I have a few sites you can check out. At Fast Company’s Co.Create, you can “See the 8 Best Ads of the Super Bowl XLVII” (February 4, 2013). These guys picked the Hyundai “Team” and Audi “Prom” (one of my favorites posted below) ads as #1 and #2. You can also see what Adweek picked as “The 5 Best Ads of Super Bowl XLVII.” Dodge Ram “Farmer” and Budweiser “Brotherhood” (the Clydesdale foal) were its choices for 1 and 2. While those are from “experts,”
For another perspective, I kind of like USA Today‘s Ad Meter, which this year sought ratings from 7619 pre-registered panelists — for a viewer perspective. You can read more at “Budweiser’s Clydesdale Wind Ad Meter by a nose” (February 6, 2013) — where you will find that it barely edged out Tide “Miracle Stain.”
What were your favorite ads? Why? Are there ads you didn’t necessarily like personally, but that you think probably worked for another target market? Maybe the one below (as a dad I can relate).
Personal selling has an important place in the marketing mix. While costly, salespeople can look a customer right in the eye and adapt their message and advice depending on how customers respond to questions. Personal selling is usually a key element in the B2B promotion blend.
The high cost of personal selling and customers’ growing comfort with the Internet are changing the nature of personal selling. The number of outside salespeople continues to grow, but much more slowly. On the other hand, the number of people engaging in inside sales (on the phone or interacting online) is growing rapidly. Inside sales is no longer a lower status (as compared to outside sales) position in many organizations. You can learn more about this trend in this recent Bloomberg Businessweek article, “Sales Moves Beyond Face-to-Face Deals, Onto the Web” (January 10, 2013).
Business students reading this post should recognize this potential career opportunity. Are you social? Comfortable on the phone? Comfortable with social media? There may be interesting opportunities in inside sales.
Today technology and big data make it easier and faster to effectively price discriminate — offer different prices to different customers. The practice is becoming more common, especially online. Companies like Staples and Rosetta Stone use a customers’ browsing history and where they live to serve up different prices. For example, a site can tell if you have visited their online competitor or a price comparison site. If that is the case, they assume you are price sensitive, and they might offer you the product at a lower price. Legal? Yes. Ethical? Up for debate. All together, these make dynamic pricing a fascinating topic to discuss with our students.
Here are a couple of articles that will give you some background on the topic — and perhaps give you some ideas about how to beat the system. This post at Lifehacker, “How Web Sites Vary Prices Based on Your Information (and What You Can Do About It)” (January 7, 2013) provides a brief history of the practice and some tips for taking advantage of it. There is also an excellent feature piece at the Wall Street Journal, “Websites Vary Prices, Deals Based on Users’ Information” (December 24, 2012 – I think WSJ offers this article with open access).
What do you think of this practice? Should it be legal? How would you feel if you found out you had paid a higher price than a friend — for the same product from the same website?
